Strength of Mind
by theslytherinpaladin
Summary: Done with Izuku's school doing nothing about the bullies, Inko decides that a change is in order. This, of course, has consequences. Childhood Friends AU
1. Bruises are a Bonding Experience

Midoriya Inko knew the moment the doctor confirmed that Izuku would never have a quirk that life had just become infinitely harder for her son.

It broke her heart when he turned to her, barely able to force the words out through his tears, and asked if he could still be a hero. It twisted painfully every time he spoke of his dream with a hope she couldn't bring herself to shatter. Izuku held onto his dream despite everything, and it hurt Inko to know that one day he would have to face the truth. The doctor's prognosis could only mean one thing.

Izuku could never be a hero.

Maybe Izuku would come to the conclusion that he couldn't be a hero over time. Maybe he would find a new dream, and the day that Inko dreaded wouldn't come. As awful as what being quirkless meant for Izuku in the long run, the most immediate consequences were much worse. Inko could help him follow whatever new passion he found, but she couldn't, it seemed, do anything about the bullies.

He never said anything to her, and Inko never saw anything directly, but something at school changed once Izuku found out he was quirkless. He mentioned Bakugou Katsuki less and less frequently, and he flinched every time Inko brought him up. Bakugou and his other friends stopped coming over, and Izuku stopped being invited as well.

Moving up to the elementary school proper, Inko had hoped that Izuku would make new friends. For a moment things looked to be alright, but although the classes had changed the bullies hadn't. Izuku started coming home immediately after school, and Inko knew things hadn't improved. What could she do about it though?

She had tried to get Izuku to tell her what was going on, and she couldn't break his trust in her by pushing when he said that nothing was wrong. She hated waiting around doing nothing, but it seemed like her only option was to let Izuku come to her when he was ready. A year passed. Then two.

And then the bruises started and everything changed.

Izuku refused to tell her who had hurt him, but Inko knew it must have happened at school. It was unfortunate for the principal that he took Inko's known kindness to mean she would take abuse against her child lightly. Her fury rising when he claimed that no teacher had reported bullying of any kind, and surely Izuku must have been exaggerating.

The conversation didn't end well for him, and Inko came to a conclusion. If the school wouldn't do anything about what Izuku was being put through, then she would. The lease on their apartment would be up soon, and Inko had been putting money aside for a rainy day. Izuku's unhappiness more than qualified. At the end of the school year they would move, away from the bullies who had been tormenting him for months, away from Bakugou Katsuki and his band of followers.

Izuku would have a fresh start at a new school, and Inko would make it clear before classes even started that she wouldn't put up with anything like what he had been going through now. She had failed her son once by not being able to take control of the situation. She wouldn't fail him again.

* * *

Izuku had gone to school with the same people since preschool, and suddenly being thrown into a new environment with new people felt weirder than he had imagined. He hadn't complained when his mother explained they were moving, a transfer to a new office taking them outside of his old school's zone. He knew his mother suspected something going on with Kacchan, but he had never wanted her to know the extent of it. Now he wouldn't have to.

One his first day at his new school, Izuku dressed in his new uniform, nervously glancing at his reflection. Some of the last bruises he had gained during the break when he ran into some of the kids in his old neighborhood hadn't faded yet, but Izuku could blame them on being clumsy if anyone asked. His mother didn't seem to believe him when he said he fell off his bike, but she hadn't pressed him just changed the subject to his new school and all the friends he was going to make.

It was nerve wracking standing in front of the class as the teacher introduced him, stammering out his name when prompted, and he took his seat quickly the moment he was allowed. No one whispered behind his back. No one called him names. He wasn't Deku here, and even though he hadn't magically gained a quirk by entering a new school he would never have to have that name hurled at him by someone he once thought of as a friend.

The bell rang for break, and Izuku knew the question would come up. He considered lying, making up a quirk that he wouldn't have to demonstrate, but he knew that would only backfire in the long run.

He tried to say the words as confidently as he could. "I'm quirkless." He had already tensed when he realized the reaction he had expected wasn't coming.

"Ugh, that's awful," the boy who sat next to him said.

"I can't imagine not having my quirk. Is it weird?"

Yeah, some of the questions they asked were insensitive, but no one hated him! No one had turned their backs on him! Or called him names! He would never tell his mother he was glad she had been transferred, but for a moment it seemed like school would be better.

"At least you're not like Shinsou."

"I'd rather have no quirk than a quirk like him."

The words were different, but tone sounded the same.

"Shinsou?" He asked, hesitantly. The students he had talked to, they weren't different it seemed. Not really, and Izuku had learned years ago that opinions could shift with a single word.

His seat neighbor grimaced. "Shinsou Hitoshi. He's over there." At that he pointed to a boy from their class who sat against the wall of the building alone and reading a book. Izuku recognized the wild purple hair from their introductions. "I would stay away from him, if I were you. His quirk is some kind of mind control. Say one word to him, and he can make you do anything he wants."

"Of course we would get the future villain in our class," another kid added. "But don't worry. As long as you don't talk him, he can't use his quirk on you."

"Has he ever done that before?" Izuku asked, resolve building with every word they spoke. "Used his quirk just because he could."

They exchanged a look, and whatever they said next Izuku already knew the answer was no.

"Not in school, but there are stories."

"I heard he made a kid from another school walk through traffic."

"Someone told me he uses it to ace his tests."

"But you haven't actually seen him do any of this?" Izuku clarified. They both shook their heads

"Midoriya-kun!" Someone yelled behind him as he started forward, but he ignored them.

He stopped in front of Shinsou, shuffling his feet. Shinsou didn't look up from his book as he said, "Come to see the next supervillain? I'm sure they were all excited to fill the new kid in."

Izuku didn't hesitate before responding. "There's a supervillain here? Maybe we'll get to see a pro hero then!"

At that, Shinsou looked up startled. "They did tell you about my quirk, right?"

"Do you mind if I sit?" Izuku asked instead. When Shinsou didn't answer, still looking at him with wide eyes, Izuku sat. "They told me what they thought about you're quirk."

"And you don't believe them." Shinsou's tone fell flat. "Well, I have to tell you whatever they said about how my quirk works was probably accurate. I could have controlled you anytime after you answered me." He turned away from Izuku, looking out over the courtyard, but the book remained closed in his lap.

"But you haven't. Do you want to be a villain, Shinsou-san?"

By the way Shinsou reacted, his mouth dropping at the question, no one had ever asked him that before. "Of course I don't," he frowned. "I want to be a hero."

Izuku grinned, and Shinsou couldn't help but think that it was the warmest smile he had gotten from someone other than his family since his quirk manifested. "And you're going to be a great hero! Just like your quirk doesn't mean you have to be a villain, me not having a quirk doesn't mean I can't be a hero, too!"

Shinsou stared at Izuku a moment longer before a smile crept up across his face. It was small, but Izuku could work with it. "I-I know what it's like to have you're whole class against you, Shinsou-san," he said, and Shinsou noticed the bruises that dotted his arms matched his own. "I don't want to go through that alone again. Do you?"

"No." The word felt heavier as he spoke it, but whatever the consequences of this decision ended up being Shinsou felt like it would be worth it.

If possible, Izuku's grin grew brighter. "Nice to meet you then! I'm Midoriya Izuku! Please take care of me, Hitoshi-san!"

Maybe, finally, Shinsou had found a friend he could trust.

 **AN:** I'm also posting this to AO3, but this is basically the Childhood Friends AU I desperately wanted to read but couldn't find. It'll be one shot-esque chapters leading up to their time at Yuuei before transitioning to multi-chapter plot lines. Chapters will get much longer after this one.

Let me know what you think!


	2. Bruises are a Bonding Experience-Shinsou

Hitoshi knew that he hadn't always been the villain kid, that there had to have been a time before his quirk manifested where the stigma of his ability didn't color people's opinion of him, but it was so long ago he could barely remember what that had been like. Maybe that was why Midoriya's kindness had thrown him so off balance. Over the years he had learned not to expect that behavior from anyone other than his parents.

Everyone looked forward to the day their quirks appeared, and Hitoshi had been no different. Before he was old enough to go to school, he had already started dreaming about what kind of hero he would be. What it would be like to help people like the pros he saw on TV everyday. To have children all over the country look up to him. Want to be like him.

Quirks generally passed from parent to child, children gaining one parent's ability over the other or mixing together to create a new quirk entirely. Hitoshi had spent hours drawing costumes, wondering which of his parents' abilities he would gain when his quirk manifested. His mother, a doctor, had a specialized healing quirk. She worked as a neurosurgeon because her quirk gave her the ability to sense and interpret electrical signals similar to the neural signaling in the brain, and while Hitoshi didn't want to be a doctor like his mother he had already come up with a long list of ways an ability like that would be useful as a pro hero.

His dad's quirk, and the one Hitoshi privately wished he would inherit, was a version of sound manipulation. Able to manipulate the frequency of sound waves, he could shatter glasses with a snap of his fingers. His father hadn't wanted to be a hero though, and turned his talents towards music instead. If Hitoshi had that quirk though, even if it wasn't exactly the same, he could definitely become a pro hero!

And then his quirk manifested and everything changed.

It started out small at first. It was common, when subtle quirks like his appeared, that the user wouldn't be aware of what they were doing. Quirks could randomly activate for a moment, and then not show up again for days at a time.

"Hitoshi, how did you get dirt all over your face?" His mother laughed, rubbing at the spot on his cheek.

"We were just playing tag at break, and I tripped." His eyes widen as he saw her lick her finger before moving back towards his face. "Gross! What are you doing?"

"Just let me get this spot off and you can go play again."

Hitoshi giggled, squirming to get away. "Stop!"

And all of a sudden she did, her had freezing before it touched his skin.

Looking at his mother in concern at the dazed look in her eyes he asked, "Mom?"

Like a spell had been broken his mother shook her head, focusing on the mud smeared across his cheek again. "Sorry, dear, must have gotten lost in thought for a moment." And then she grabbed his sides, grinning as she tickled him, and the incident was forgotten.

Moments where Hitoshi unknowingly used his quirk passed without notice for several weeks until suddenly they didn't.

"Hitoshi!" His mother cried when he came through the door one day after school. His eyes were still red from crying and sand covered his clothes, his knees and palms bloodied. "What happened?"

The moment his mother wrapped him in a hug Hitoshi broke.

"Th-They said I was going to be a villain!" He sobbed, shaking in his mother's arms. "I don't want to be a villain!"

Shinsou Azumi felt lost. Why would someone tell Hitoshi he would be a villain. "Shh, shh it's okay, Hitoshi." She said, hugging him closer. "You don't have to be a villain. Who told you that?" Had a break time game gone too far?

"The kids at school!" He said still crying. "My quirk! I didn't mean to do it, I swear! But Abe-kun stole my toy and I just told him to give it back! I didn't know that he would have to!"

Azumi didn't know what to think. Hitoshi's quirk had manifested at school? Why hadn't the teachers called her? "What happened, Hitoshi? I know you didn't do it on purpose. You aren't going to get in trouble."

Although he had calmed down slightly at her words, his voice still wavered as he spoke. "I don't know how it happened, but we were arguing. I told him to give the toy back and… He just did. He said I made him do it. That he didn't even remember handing it back. Sensei said my quirk must be like mind-mind control? She let us go to break after that and he said- he said I was just like a villain! Because I made him do something he didn't want to! But that couldn't be true, right? That's not like your's or dad's quirk, right?"

Wiping the tear tracks from his cheeks, Azumi said. "I'll have to talk to your teacher about what happened, but it does sound like that might be your quirk, Hitoshi. You know how my quirk helps me heal people's brains? It might have come from that. With your father's quirk there might be some kind of sound related condition too, since you boys were arguing."

Hitoshi's eyes went wide, the tears threatening to spill again. "Does that mean Abe-kun was right? That I have to be a villain?"

"You can be whatever you want to be, Hitoshi. And you want to be a hero, right?"

Azumi almost laughed at the way her son quickly nodded.

"I think you'll be a great hero. So don't listen to people like Abe-kun," She leaned forward, looking around before she whispered, "He's just jealous he doesn't have a quirk as cool as yours."

Hitoshi smiled, and although it was a little hesitant, Azumi felt glad that she had managed to cheer her son up. "We'll figure out how your quirk works, Hitoshi. It'll all be okay."

Soothed by his mother's words, Hitoshi had gone to school the next day expecting nothing to have changed. Everyone had trouble controlling their quirks at first, she had told him, no one can be mad at you for making a mistake. Word had spread quickly through the classroom though, and Hitoshi heard the word villain said in hushed voices all day. His friends didn't sit with him at lunch, and no one wanted to play with him when they were finally released for break. His mother greeted him in tears once again.

"I'm so sorry, dear." Azumi made a mental note to call the school first thing in the morning. Behavior like that should not have been tolerated.

"I wish I didn't have this quirk! Why couldn't it have been like your's or dad's?"

"I'm sure you'll do a lot of good with this quirk, Hitoshi, something that only you can accomplish because you have this quirk, and in the end it's only an extra ability. What really matters in the long run is who you are as a person. And I happen to think you are the greatest person I've ever met."

The bullying never truly disappeared, but a call from Azumi had the most obvious perpetrators called out immediately. The whispers of villain still followed him, but for the most part he learned to ignore it. It didn't matter that he had no friends at school. It didn't matter that they all felt like was destined to be a villain. His mother believed in him, and that was all he really needed, Hitoshi thought.

When he was called into the office, he didn't know what to expect. He never got in trouble so it made no sense that his dad was waiting for him. His father's words were stilted as if they had somehow gotten caught in his throat on the way out. Hitoshi had never heard his dad, master of sound that he was, sound so hollow, and as the words finally registered Hitoshi understood why.

Shinsou Azumi had been in a car accident that morning. She had died on the way to the hospital.

* * *

In the wake of his mother's death, Hitoshi had a reprieve from his bullies. Even first graders understood the gravity of a situation like that, but being first graders their break didn't last long as they grew bored. Two weeks passed and they were back at their usual routines, tripping Hitoshi on the playground and mocking him for his future as a villain. Hitoshi's father didn't know the extent of what had been happening, and Hitoshi made no move to tell him.

He buried everything away, withdrawing from his classmates even further and staying by himself as much as possible. The fact that he learned to hide his emotions didn't help the rumors that he would become a villain, but he could avoid most of the bullies if he didn't get involved with this class. That was why, two years later, he felt surprised when the new student hovered above him while he sat at break reading.

Hitoshi didn't even bother to look up from his book as he said, "Come to see the next supervillain? I'm sure they were all excited to fill the new kid in." Knowing the gossips in his homeroom, there was no way they had missed such a prime opportunity to bad mouth him to someone who hadn't heard their grossly exaggerated stories before.

"There's a supervillain here? Maybe we'll get to see a pro hero then!" The new kid said excitedly without even a second of hesitation. Hitoshi almost dropped his book, looking up at him startled. With green hair and a wide smile, he wasn't anything like what Hitoshi had expected when he realized someone had braved his quirk to approach him.

"They did tell you about my quirk, right?" Hitoshi felt stupid for asking, but from the boy's reaction he had to be sure.

"Do you mind if I sit?" He asked, and then dropped down by Hitoshi without bothering to wait for a reply. Hitoshi couldn't understand what was happening. Why was this kid asking to sit next to him? He was new, but even he had to know that sitting with the kid everyone expected to become a villain was guaranteed to lose him any chance of making friends. "They told me what they thought about you're quirk."

"And you don't believe them." Hitoshi's tone fell flat. So that was it. He just wanted confirmation that what he had been told was true. Hitoshi didn't know why he even felt disappointed at this point. "Well, I have to tell you whatever they said about how my quirk works was probably accurate. I could have controlled you anytime after you answered me." He turned away from the new kid, looking out over the courtyard. Maybe if he ignored him he would go away now that he had gotten what he wanted, proven his bravery for speaking to the villain-to-be.

"But you haven't. Do you want to be a villain, Shinsou-san?"

The sincerity in his voice threw Hitoshi once more. No one had asked him that question. Not since his mother. Glancing at the kid next to him, looking at the earnest expression on his face, Hitoshi could tell that he meant it too. He stared at him openly, frowning as he said "Of course I don't. I want to be a hero."

The boy grinned, and Hitoshi couldn't help but think that it was the warmest smile he had gotten from someone other than his family since his quirk manifested. "And you're going to be a great hero! Just like your quirk doesn't mean you have to be a villain, me not having a quirk doesn't mean I can't be a hero, too!"

He was quirkless? And he still wanted to be a hero? Hitoshi didn't have to imagine what that must have been like for him. The words thrown at him might have been different, but Hitoshi knew the tone had to have sounded the same.

"I-I know what it's like to have you're whole class against you, Shinsou-san," he said, rubbing at his arms. It was only then that Hitoshi noticed the bruises that dotted his arms matched his own. "I don't want to go through that alone again. Do you?"

"No." Hitoshi had no idea what exactly he was agreeing to, but something in the new kid's smile made him think that everything would be okay now that he was here.

If possible, the boy's grin grew brighter. "Nice to meet you then! I'm Midoriya Izuku! Please take care of me, Hitoshi-san!"

It had been a long time since Hitoshi had been anything other than the villain kid. A long time since he had had a friend, but looking at Midoriya Izuku's smile Hitoshi thought it might just be worth the risk.

AN: And here is Hitoshi's POV of their meeting! I should have the next part out next weekend!

Let me know what you thought!


	3. Nothing But the Truth

Hitoshi knew better than to expect the bullying to stop simply because he had made a friend, and in all honesty he didn't know if he even trusted that friendship to last. He had been burned too many times in the past by people who said they weren't bothered by his quirk only to back out when they realized just how other people saw him. When they realized what associating with someone people only saw as a future villain really meant. Midoriya knew about his quirk, true, but he hadn't seen Hitoshi use it yet. Hadn't had it used on himself.

At least, that's what Hitoshi had thought at first, once he had gotten over the fact that Midoriya had approached him in the first place. Their friendship would have an expiration date on it, just like all the others. Midoriya had to have been bullied before. He never came said it outright, but the bruises on his arms said enough. Going to the same school as Hitoshi was probably the only reason Midoriya's quirkless status hadn't been thrown right back in his face because, like their classmate had said, he may not have had a quirk, but at least he wasn't going to be a villain. Why would he risk being treated like that again just to be Hitoshi's friend.

Hitoshi wouldn't even have blamed him. It was just the smart thing to do.

It became immediately apparent though that Midoriya Izuku wasn't like anyone Hitoshi had even known before, because while he might not be able to stand up for himself he had no problem jumping between Hitoshi and the first person who started to harass him as they were heading back to their classroom.

"What did you do, Shinsou?" A wheezing voice said behind them. "Did you mind control the new kid into being your friend before someone could warn him?" So it was already starting.

Hitoshi hadn't planned on stopping or paying his classmate's comment any attention whatsoever, but he saw Midoriya stop from the corner of his eye and slowed, turning to see the look in his eye's harden.

"Apologize to Shinsou-kun." Midoriya said. The other students moving towards the doors hung back at the sound of his voice.

Tanaka laughed. "Why should I? It's the truth. How do you know that he isn't using his quirk on you right now?"

Hitoshi could only watch as Midoriya's expression hardened. "It's fine, Midoriya, we'll be late for class."

"It's not fine," Midoriya said, and when he turned towards Hitoshi his eyes burned. "Why would he use his quirk on me?"

"Why wouldn't he? It's the only way he'll ever make friends. Or I guess you'll really be more of a minion. A sidekick? Whatever. Everyone knows villains don't have friends."

Midoriya's hands tighten at his sides. "I am Shinsou-kun's friend. And he's going to be a hero. A great one."

"Him? A hero? That's even crazier than him actually having a friend he didn't trick into it."

Each word struck at Hitoshi, no matter how many times he had heard it before, because that really was the only way people saw him. The poor boy with the quirk destined to make him a villain, forever friendless and alone. Midoriya might be argueing with Tanaka now, but it was only a matter of time before he saw him that way too, before he said the exact same things as-

"Shinsou-kun. Use your quirk on me." Midoriya said, his voice firm, pulling Hitoshi from his thoughts.

"What?" He couldn't have heard that right. There was no way.

"This idiot thinks that you used your quirk on me. I know that you don't have anything to prove to them, but do you mind doing it anyway? For me?" The earnest tone to Midoriya's voice almost had him agreeing before he had fully processed what he was being asked to do.

"You want me to use my quirk on you. To prove that I'm not using my quirk on you?"

Midoriya rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. "When you put it like that it does sound a little crazy, but I trust you. I want the whole class to know that I trust you too. I don't want them to doubt that we're friends." He paused, lowering his voice. "I don't want you to doubt me too."

Hitoshi still couldn't believe what Midoriya was asking. "What do you want me to do?"

"Ask me a question. Tell me to tell the truth." He turned to Tanaka. "That will satisfy you, right?"

"You're really willing to let him use his quirk on you?" Tanaka asked, baffled. From the whispers that had picked up from the rest of the class, that sentiment was shared. "He could make you do anything!"

Midoriya smiled. "But he won't. Go ahead, Shinsou-kun."

"Are you sure?" Hitoshi hesitated, giving Midoriya one last chance to change his mind. Because as much as he thought this was a terrible idea, if Midoriya was going to back out of being his friend this was the time. Better to get it over with one way or the other.

Midoriya's answer came immediately, the smile on his face growing as he said, "Go for it!"

The moment the words were out of his mouth Hitoshi activated his quirk, watching as the tell tale stiffness settled in Midoriya's shoulders, the emotion that had been burning so strongly in his eyes wiped out. Tanaka, who had been under the effects of Hitoshi's quirk once before, recognized the signs.

"Oh he's definitely going to hate you now," he sneered with a grin.

"He asked me to do this," Hitoshi argued, ignoring the tiny voice in the back of his head that agreed with what Tanaka had said.

"Doesn't matter. Ask him his question, not that it will make a difference."

Hitoshi hesitated again. What was he supposed to ask?

"Midoriya," he started, speaking out loud so that the other students would hear. He didn't want to have to do it again if Midoriya wasn't satisfied with the results. "Tell the truth." Hitoshi took a deep breath, not wanting to continue, but knowing exactly what the boy had wanted him to ask. "Did you really want to be my friend?"

And there, in front of all of their classmates, Midoriya answered. "Of course I do. I wouldn't have said otherwise."

The pain in Hitoshi's chest vanished as he dropped the control.

Midoriya blinked as the quirks effects left him before smirking at Tanaka. "Does that clear everything up for you?"

Tanaka huffed. "If you want to be friends with the villain kid, go ahead. It's not like you have a future anyway, since you're quirkless."

Hitoshi expected him to respond to that, but Midoriya's grin didn't slip as he addressed the rest of the class. "Anyone who calls Shinsou-kun a villain from this point on is getting reported to the teacher for bullying. I may be quirkless, but I'm not useless. Go ahead and try it. See what happens."

When Midoriya's attention shifted back to Hitoshi, he found him staring at him open mouthed. "Why would you do that?" He asked.

Midoriya's smile was blinding as he responded. "Because you're my friend, of course. Now let's go, or we really will be late for class."

Hitoshi couldn't do anything but follow as Midoriya grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the students who were still looking after them in shock.

AN: Just a reminder that if I don't update this every week, it's not abandoned. I update my other three MHA stories weekly, so this one won't be quite as often. Once I get to their time at Yuuei updates will probably increase to every week.

Next time: Inko meets her new son

Let me know what you thought!


	4. Intentions

"You should come to my house after school."

Izuku hadn't planned the invitation, or at least hadn't planned to ask without apologizing first, but he did nothing to try to pull the words back. The last thing he wanted was for his friend to think the invitation wasn't genuine. Shinsou didn't speak, staring at Izuku in shock, and frankly Izuku didn't blame him. They hadn't spoken since Shinsou used his quirk on him the day before, and the first thing Izuku did was invite him over without warning.

When Izuku had dragged Shinsou away after his friend had released him from his quirk's control, Izuku had been sure that that would be sign that Shinsou had been looking for. The proof that Izuku wasn't afraid of him or what he could do. Instead Shinsou had refused to talk to him and had gone straight to his seat without a word. Izuku had watched him from across the room, his heart stopping as he noticed the way Shinsou's hands shook long after class had resumed.

Asking Shinsou to use his quirk on him, Izuku realized, might not have been the best idea.

Izuku had gone home at the end of the day feeling sick for making the situation worse, and his mother, ever observant, noticed the moment he wanted in the door.

"Oh, Izuku," she said, frowning at him from her desk in the living room. "What happened?"

Looking down, Izuku dropped his bag to the floor. "I made a friend at school," he said simply.

Inko's brow furrowed. She wanted to be happy that Izuku was adjusting to his new school, was making new friends, but the expression on his face as he kicked at the floor with his socked foot didn't match the excitement she expected his words to bring. "Did your new friend hurt your feelings?"

"Worse!" Izuku said softly, dropping down on the sofa with his back turned to Inko. "I think I hurt his feelings. Pushed him too far. And now he won't talk to me."

The desk's chair scraped against the floor as Inko stood, moving to sit beside her son. Izuku fiddled with the straps on his backpack in his lap, not looking as she placed an arm around his shoulders. "Do you want to tell me about it? Maybe I can help you find a way to fix things."

"His name is Shinsou Hitoshi and...I thought that maybe Kacchan and his friends were just the exception, you know?" Izuku said finally. "I know that being quirkless isn't common anymore, but I had gone into school the first day, and no one said anything bad about it. No one acted like it was a big deal. And then I found out why."

Izuku trailed off again, taking a shaky breath, and Inko reached to calm the hand that pulled at the frayed strings on his bag as he tried to gather his words. "They hated him, Mom. He's got a really cool quirk perfect for being a pro hero, but people are jealous. They called him a future villain just because his quirk is a kind of mind control. Doesn't matter that he's never used his quirk on his classmates on purpose, or that he wants to go to Yuuei to be a hero. I thought they actually liked me, but really they just wanted to use me against Shinsou. Like hey, even the quirkless kid is better than you. That sort of thing."

Inko felt a surge of anger for the child she had never met. She had had a lot talk with the school about their policy on bullying before she enrolled Izuku, but if something like this was going on it seemed like another visit to the school would be in order. "And what did you do?"

"They tried to tell me about all of these awful things he had supposedly done. Why I needed to avoid him because all he would ever end of being was a villain." Izuku's chuckle sounded watery. "So I went and talked to him. Asked him to be my friend. And he looked so surprised, Mom, like he couldn't believe that anyone would want to talk to him."

"That poor boy," Inko said. "I can't believe that school allowed that to happen."

Izuku shrugged. "From what I gathered from Shinsou, they never say anything bad to him when a teacher is around. It's just at break when no one else can hear, or before classes start when the teacher isn't there yet. Shinsou won't tell anyone about it either."

"Well it sounds like a good thing you two are friends then," Inko said, running her fingers through Izuku's hair. He leaned in to the touch as she continued. "But you said you thought you had hurt his feelings?"

"It was dumb. He didn't seem to think I meant it when I said I wanted to be his friend, and he kept acting like I would turn on him as soon as he used his quirk. There's this kid in our class who kept saying that I was only talking to Shinsou because he had used his quirk on me before someone could warn me. So I asked Shinsou to use it to prove that I really wanted to be his friend. In front of everyone."

"And now he's worried that you'll hold that against him, even though you told him to?" Inko asked. If the boy had been bullied for using his quirk as harshly as Izuku had been by Bakugou and his gang, she could see why he would have thought that. Izuku had offered something that Shinsou Hitoshi probably desperately wanted and then immediately put him in a position he had associated with loss.

Izuku nodded. "I didn't think about what that would do to him. I just wanted to find a way to prove that I meant what I said, but I pushed too far. He wouldn't talk to me the rest of the day, and I could see him shaking and- How do I fix this?" He cried. "I didn't mean to hurt him."

"You need to tell him exactly what you told me," Inko said finally. "Explain to him what you were trying to do, but make sure to apologize. I know you meant well, but in situations like this intentions don't change the fact that his feelings were hurt." She smoothed his hair from his face, wiping at the tears that had started to fall as he sniffled. "Listen to what he has to say, and I'm sure the two of you will be able to move past this. Make sure to bring him by one day too. I'd love to meet him."

And so Izuku had planned to do just that. Shinsou had arrived at school just as the bell rang, but Izuku promised himself that he would talk to him at break. He had followed his friend to his usual spot outside, had planned to apologize the moment he had settled on the ground beside him, but when he saw the hesitance in Shinsou's movements, the way that he wouldn't quite meet his eyes, the words had tumbled out before he could stop them.

"What?" Shinsou asked finally, looking away from Izuku again to where the rest of their classmates milled about.

"I meant to apologize first," Izuku said quickly. "For yesterday. It wasn't fair of me to put you in that position. I wanted to show you that I was your friend, no matter what, but I didn't stop to think about how you would feel about it." Izuku looked down at his hands, pulling on the sleeves of his jacket. "I'm really sorry, Shinsou-kun. I never meant to make you uncomfortable, and… If you want to, I would really like it if you could come to my house after school."

Silence.

"Shinsou-kun?" Izuku looked up to find Shinsou staring at him. "Are you okay?"

"You really want me to come over?"

Now it was Izuku's turn to be confused. "Yes? I thought maybe we could work on our homework for a little while, and I want to show you this new All Might figure I got. Oh! And my mom said she wants to meet you! I'm sure she'll go all out if you can come, so maybe you could stay for dinner too, and-"

"You really aren't mad?" Shinsou asked, the words a whisper.

"I told you, Shinsou-kun. I'm your friend. Your quirk is amazing, and one day you're going to be a great hero." Izuku said. "I hope that you'll be able to trust me when I say that soon."

Just like that, Izuku was frozen, the feeling of calm mindlessness that he had experience the day before coming over him once again. It ended just as quickly, and Izuku watched, eyes wide, as Shinsou leaned forward, waiting to see what Izuku would do. They stared at each other for a minute before the corner of Izuku's mouth twitched, and they both busted out laughing.

The sound drew the yard's attention their way, but the two boys paid them no mind. "So do you want to come?"

Shinsou's answering smile was soft. "Yes. I think I would. And Midoriya?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

 **AN:** So not Hitoshi and Inko's meeting, but I decided this needed to be addressed first. Inko will definitely meet her new son next update, I promise!

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter!


	5. Expectations and Exceptions

Inko knew when she made the decision to move that there would be changes coming she couldn't anticipate.

New apartment, new school, new job? Those she could handle. She had prepared for those challenges the moment she realized Izuku's school wouldn't do anything about the bullying. Any other changes would have to be small in comparison. What restaurant would become their new favorite, what grocery store they would shop at, whether or not they would get along with their new neighbors. Important for their everyday life, but not life altering.

She should have know that with Izuku things would never be that simple. Her son was nothing if not thorough in his determination to make her life interesting, and this was no exception.

Shinsou Hitoshi was no exception.

Izuku had told her the vague details about his situation the day before. Bullied. Called a villain because he had a mind control quirk. Even without meeting the boy, she could see why Izuku would have latched onto him. How many other children were ridiculed for their quirks-or lack thereof? How many schools let their students get away with that kind of harassment?

Anger burned slow and steady in the back of Inko's mind. Izuku's old school had refused to do anything about it, too caught up in their own prejudices to do their jobs. She wouldn't be letting this new school get away with the same thing. Inko could read between the lines of what Izuku had said. In standing up for Shinsou Hitoshi Izuku had made himself a target once again.

She was proud of him for doing the right thing, of course. He wouldn't be Izuku if he let something as minor to him as bullying keep him from standing up for someone who needed help, and while she loved that he continued to be the kindhearted kid he was despite everything he had gone through she wished that for once he would get a break. A chance to just be a kid. Not constantly at war with one of the most negative side effects of living in a society where superpowers were the norm.

Enough time had passed that being quirkless wasn't as common, but that only made the situation worse. How quickly people seemed to forget that once upon a time, everyone had been quirkless. That only a few decades ago it was the people with quirks who were ridiculed for the powers they had no control over. Inko had spent so much time trying to look at quirks from Izuku's perspective that she hadn't considered that there were still quirks that left people as outsiders.

School had been hard for Izuku because he had been the lone child without special powers. What had things been like for Shinsou Hitoshi? He was only in elementary school, and yet it seemed that people had already written him off, slapped him with the villain label when he was just a kid who wanted to go to class and make friends.

Inko would do something about that, but for the moment she needed to address the issue of the small, purple haired kid that stood half hidden behind Izuku as they came through the door. Shinsou wouldn't meet her eyes as he entered, hesitating in the entryway until Izuku nudged him to take off his shoes.

"Mom," Izuku said, pulling his friend over to stand beside him. Shinsou stumbled, his socked feet slipping on the hardwood floor, and he glared at Izuku for a moment before realizing Inko's eyes were still on him. Face red, he pulled his arm out of Izuku's grip and looked at the ground. "This is Shinsou Hitoshi. Shinsou-kun, this is my mom!"

Shinsou's eyes darted up to meet hers, his shoulders hunching under the weight of her stare. If Izuku would have let him get away with it, Inko felt sure that Shinsou would have been out the door the moment he saw her. What had this poor child gone through to make him react that way?

"It's nice to meet you, Shinsou-kun. Izuku's told me a lot about you," Inko said, watching as Shinsou flinched at her words. The fury usually reserved for Izuku sparked to life at the broken expression on his face. The way he took a step back as she spoke, eyes clouded with an emotion Inko couldn't place a name to if she wanted to keep her composure. "I'm very glad Izuku has made a friend like you."

Shinsou jerked, his attention flying to Inko's face.

"Can you keep a secret, Shinsou-kun?" Inko asked, dropping her voice to a whisper, angling her hand to shield her words from Izuku. Her son huffed, but Inko could see the smile growing on his face from the corner of her eye.

Shinsou paused before answering, eyes cutting to Izuku before he leaned in slowly, nodding.

"Izuku gets in a lot of trouble. I know you haven't known each other long, but I'm sure you've noticed that." Inko waited for Shinsou to nod again then continued. "I know this is a lot to ask, Shinsou-kun, but could you keep an eye on him for me? Try to keep him out of trouble?"

"I-" Shinsou's voice broke. He looked away again, tugging his sleeves over his hands. "I don't know if that's possible, Midoriya-san," he finally said, words barely loud enough for her to hear. "I can try though."

"I appreciate it, dear," Inko said, and she reach a slow hand out towards him, testing his reaction. When Shinsou didn't pull away from her touch she ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face like she did with Izuku.

Shinsou ducked his head again, eyes shining. A hand tightened around Inko's heart.

"Did you really ask Shinsou-kun to look out for me? Mom!"

Laughing, Inko turned her back to them, heading into the kitchen. "I don't know what you're talking about, Izuku. Whatever I said is between Shinsou-kun and me."

Izuku flashed her a grin as she glanced over her shoulder, hopping into the kitchen after her. Shinsou hurried after them.

"Can we make All Might cookies, Mom? Shinsou-kun's never had them," Izuku said excitedly. "You haven't right?"

"All Might cookies?" Came the hesitant response.

"Well, we can't have that can we?" Inko said, opening the door to the refrigerator. "I think we have everything we need. How about it Shinsou-kun?"

"They're the best! I promise!" Izuku gushed. "They're just sugar cookies, but my mom made this really awesome cookie cutter that looks just like All Might! And we can even make the icing from scratch! It only took a few batches, but I figured out how to copy his costume and…" He trailed off. "Who's your favorite hero? We can try to make cookies for them next time! Right, Mom?"

Inko hummed as she started to place ingredients on the counter, watching Shinsou from the corner of her eye. "I can make another cookie cutter for the next time you come over."

And there would be another time. Inko didn't know everything about Shinsou Hitoshi's situation, but she knew enough. Izuku had stepped in when he needed someone there to help him. The least Inko could do was follow her son's example.

"All Might," Shinsou said. "All Might is my favorite too."

"One double batch of All Might cookies coming up!"

Moving always came with unexpected changes. Consequences that couldn't be anticipated. Inko hadn't known she would gain a new son with their move, but she couldn't say she felt sorry about the outcome either.

She could only hope that Shinsou felt the same way.

 **AN:** Next up: Shinsou's POV and some cooking baking fluff

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter! I love hearing what you think!


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